Based on early buzz MOS might have a chance to break out and cross 400 M.

Catching Fire and Monsters University have a chance too.

Out of those, I'd put Catching fire at the top. There's too much stuff coming out this summer for those films to hold those kind of legs. I think the only Pixar film to reach 400M is Toy Story, and I don't think Monsters U will get the same reception.

I'm also somewhat wary of MoS. Yes there has been early twitter buzz, but some of it very negative. Not saying it won't be a great movie, but as someone said on the MoS theads, they should be prepared that it may not be the critical success they're hoping it to be.

__________________"If you step out that door, you're an Avenger" - Hawkeye

IM3 might well be the highest grossing film of the year, let alone the summer. I agree there's a lot of competition.

Despite Avengers' huge run last year, everything else in may flopped hard. This year Great Gatsby performed above expected, and Star Trek, may not have performed as expected, but it certainly didn't flop. Fast and Furious was huge, and shows that what began as a modest hit became a blockbuster sensation.

Man of Steel should open big, but it's got some pretty big competition on it's heels. I think Monsters U. will be a big hit, and the early buzz is good. I'm also hoping that Lone Ranger is a big hit. If I were to pick my second favorite "superhero" behind Iron Man, it would be the Lone Ranger. I'm really hoping that one takes off, and they can give a rebirth to a character that's been dead to the public for some time.

Agreed. I like Armie Hammer, I think he's an underrated actor that deserves leading man status. I could actually picture him as Superman in Man Of Steel if Henry Cavill wasn't there.

Out of those, I'd put Catching fire at the top. There's too much stuff coming out this summer for those films to hold those kind of legs. I think the only Pixar film to reach 400M is Toy Story, and I don't think Monsters U will get the same reception.

Yeah Catching Fire is gonna be a huge hit especially since the first one was a mammoth. And I think the next Pixar film to cross 400m is Finding Dory and not Monsters U.

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I'm also somewhat wary of MoS. Yes there has been early twitter buzz, but some of it very negative. Not saying it won't be a great movie, but as someone said on the MoS theads, they should be prepared that it may not be the critical success they're hoping it to be.

Especially since the director, Zack Snyder, is quite cocky. I have to admit though 300 is great but from a director that brought us Owls of the Ga'hoole he is quite a contradicting character. But to be fair I would still watch MoS, just because of Henry Cavill and his take on Kal-El.

It's Snyder. There is no way MoS will be devoid of critical shortcomings. Any time you scale up the action to that level, you are going to lose story and character appeal. I personally will wait for reviews before fully committing, unlike IM3, where I pretty much went in blind after the first 3-4 reviews or so. More than likely it will be acceptable enough even for Snyder's level. Thor and Cap I absolutely will not watch unless the reviews are 85% plus or so, so I'm not just being a Marvel fanboy here.

It's Snyder. There is no way MoS will be devoid of critical shortcomings. Any time you scale up the action to that level, you are going to lose story and character appeal. I personally will wait for reviews before fully committing, unlike IM3, where I pretty much went in blind after the first 3-4 reviews or so. More than likely it will be acceptable enough even for Snyder's level. Thor and Cap I absolutely will not watch unless the reviews are 85% plus or so, so I'm not just being a Marvel fanboy here.

The biggest problem from people I have read, that have seen the movie, is that apparently there is very little screen time for Lois Lane, she's barely in the movie. To me that is almost sacrilege for Superman. Superman works best when it focuses on the relationship he has with Lois. That's what makes the Donner movies so timeless, is the chemistry between Reeves and Kidder, it makes you forget the dated hairstyles and poor special effects.

If there is negative criticism, I almost guarantee it comes from that. I've even heard people's reviews who called it the best superhero movie ever, complain about that.

__________________"If you step out that door, you're an Avenger" - Hawkeye

It's Snyder. There is no way MoS will be devoid of critical shortcomings. Any time you scale up the action to that level, you are going to lose story and character appeal. I personally will wait for reviews before fully committing, unlike IM3, where I pretty much went in blind after the first 3-4 reviews or so. More than likely it will be acceptable enough even for Snyder's level. Thor and Cap I absolutely will not watch unless the reviews are 85% plus or so, so I'm not just being a Marvel fanboy here.

That's a really high average, considering most movies hardly ever get that type of consensus. I usually put my limit at around 70% but there are movies I've enjoyed that fall below that as well.

That's a really high average, considering most movies hardly ever get that type of consensus. I usually put my limit at around 70% but there are movies I've enjoyed that fall below that as well.

Agreed. But the minute Marvel settled for mediocrity with a marginal director like Joe Johnston, I was done. Netflixed the movie, mostly because Thor was a letdown for me as well. I want big time talent brought in and respected. Marvel won't hire big directors. Big composers. If it's just generic, run of the mill stuff, that just isn't going to fly with me. A2 is pretty much the only MCU movie that I can probably guarantee I'll be seeing in theatres. It's not that I consider Snyder big time talent. He is amenable to the studio needs and they surrounded him with the best possible team. If he doesn't maximize the opportunity, it's time to take away those opportunities away for good. Anyhow, back to IM3.

I thought Joe did a great job with Cap. Cap is probably the hardest Marvel character to do, and I thought they had a great story, and Joe brought that "Indiana Jones" vibe to the picture which I thought fit perfectly.

He has made some very bad films, but I don't think he's a bad director. October Sky was a great movie, and I also thought he did a great job on the Rocketeer.

__________________"If you step out that door, you're an Avenger" - Hawkeye

Agreed. But the minute Marvel settled for mediocrity with a marginal director like Joe Johnston, I was done. Netflixed the movie, mostly because Thor was a letdown for me as well. I want big time talent brought in and respected. Marvel won't hire big directors. Big composers. If it's just generic, run of the mill stuff, that just isn't going to fly with me. A2 is pretty much the only MCU movie that I can probably guarantee I'll be seeing in theatres. It's not that I consider Snyder big time talent. He is amenable to the studio needs and they surrounded him with the best possible team. If he doesn't maximize the opportunity, it's time to take away those opportunities away for good. Anyhow, back to IM3.

Joe Johnston was hired partly because of what he did with Rocketeer and it worked with period feel of Cap and he's not some second rate director, same goes for Branagh with Thor or even with Jon Favreau with the first Iron Man, the way I see it Marvel likes to mix it up, take chances on the less obvious choices to direct their movies. It also keeps the budget down not worrying about the A-list director's fees. Plus me watching a movie is not entirely dependent on critics ratings (a good example of that is Transformers 1-3). Superhero movies are meant to be enjoyed in the theatres because they are spectacles made for the big screen, if you're too worried about reviews reserve those for those sappy Oscar-bait dramas in the fall and winter season.

Agreed. But the minute Marvel settled for mediocrity with a marginal director like Joe Johnston, I was done. Netflixed the movie, mostly because Thor was a letdown for me as well. I want big time talent brought in and respected. Marvel won't hire big directors. Big composers. If it's just generic, run of the mill stuff, that just isn't going to fly with me. A2 is pretty much the only MCU movie that I can probably guarantee I'll be seeing in theatres. It's not that I consider Snyder big time talent. He is amenable to the studio needs and they surrounded him with the best possible team. If he doesn't maximize the opportunity, it's time to take away those opportunities away for good. Anyhow, back to IM3.

Who are these big directors you speak of? Spielberg, Cameron, Tarantino,Jackson,Russell, Bigelow, Anderson? Most of these A -list directors aren't exactly lining up to do superhero movies. They mostly write and do their own individual projects. As for composers, Alan Silvestri, Ramin Djawadi, Brian Tyler are very respected composers. Just because their name aren't Hans Zimmer or James newton Howard doesn't mean they're not very talented.

Yeah saying Marvel doesn't hire big name composers when Alan Silvestri is on the list is pretty silly. Hans Zimmer might be the flavor of the month, but that doesn't mean there's other great composers out there.

__________________"If you step out that door, you're an Avenger" - Hawkeye

Yeah saying Marvel doesn't hire big name composers when Alan Silvestri is on the list is pretty silly. Hans Zimmer might be the flavor of the month, but that doesn't mean there's other great composers out there.

True. I loved Thor's score, and I now learned that Patrick Doyle is a twice Academy Award nominated composer. How's that for mediocre?

(Plus Alan Taylor is at the helm of Thor 2, am pretty sure he's not a lightweight, B-rated director)

Who are these big directors you speak of? Spielberg, Cameron, Tarantino,Jackson,Russell, Bigelow, Anderson? Most of these A -list directors aren't exactly lining up to do superhero movies. They mostly write and do their own individual projects. As for composers, Alan Silvestri, Ramin Djawadi, Brian Tyler are very respected composers. Just because their name aren't Hans Zimmer or James newton Howard doesn't mean they're not very talented.

Another thing to consider is that when Marvel Studios started out it could not attract writers and directors for its movies. In one of the features on The Avengers BluRay, Kevin Feige and some of the other producers recounted how they sent out information packets to dozens of writers trying to find someone interested in writing the script for Iron Man. Not one responded. Every time they approached established talent they were turned down.

The writers Marvel eventually hired for Iron Man did an excellent job, along with some improv from Downey & co., but even after the film's success writers and directors weren't exactly breaking down the doors to work for Marvel. Branagh wanted to do Thor, certainly, and Whedon was persuaded to take on The Avengers, but they were the exceptions. Now that the studio has a couple of billion-dollar films under its belt there may be more willingness among Hollywood's bigger names to take on its future projects. But then again, having come up with a winning formula without heavyweights behind the camera, Feige & Co. might just keep hiring directors with less experience but more vision for their films.

Another thing to consider is that when Marvel Studios started out it could not attract writers and directors for its movies. In one of the features on The Avengers BluRay, Kevin Feige and some of the other producers recounted how they sent out information packets to dozens of writers trying to find someone interested in writing the script for Iron Man. Not one responded. Every time they approached established talent they were turned down.

The writers Marvel eventually hired for Iron Man did an excellent job, along with some improv from Downey & co., but even after the film's success writers and directors weren't exactly breaking down the doors to work for Marvel. Branagh wanted to do Thor, certainly, and Whedon was persuaded to take on The Avengers, but they were the exceptions. Now that the studio has a couple of billion-dollar films under its belt there may be more willingness among Hollywood's bigger names to take on its future projects. But then again, having come up with a winning formula without heavyweights behind the camera, Feige & Co. might just keep hiring directors with less experience but more vision for their films.

I would love if Marvel hired indie/upcoming directors like Rian Johnson (Looper) and Josh Trank (Chronicle) for their next superhero films.

Another thing to consider is that when Marvel Studios started out it could not attract writers and directors for its movies. In one of the features on The Avengers BluRay, Kevin Feige and some of the other producers recounted how they sent out information packets to dozens of writers trying to find someone interested in writing the script for Iron Man. Not one responded. Every time they approached established talent they were turned down.

The writers Marvel eventually hired for Iron Man did an excellent job, along with some improv from Downey & co., but even after the film's success writers and directors weren't exactly breaking down the doors to work for Marvel. Branagh wanted to do Thor, certainly, and Whedon was persuaded to take on The Avengers, but they were the exceptions. Now that the studio has a couple of billion-dollar films under its belt there may be more willingness among Hollywood's bigger names to take on its future projects. But then again, having come up with a winning formula without heavyweights behind the camera, Feige & Co. might just keep hiring directors with less experience but more vision for their films.

That's an excellent point. People have to remember that despite any love for the characters this is a job for these people. You wouldn't be taking on a job to put food on the table if you didn't have some assurance that you were going to have a pay check at the end of the day. Marvel took out a huge loan to finance Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk, and it paid off, but it could have easily sent the company back into bankruptcy. Those films came out the same year as the market crash.

__________________"If you step out that door, you're an Avenger" - Hawkeye

The only Marvel score that really sticks with me is Raimi's Spiderman. That is an ICONIC score (and maybe X2 when Jean dies still sticks with me). I can't hum a single tune from the MCU off the top of my head. That's just me though. I just don't think MCU movies are going to have that lasting impact, outside of maybe the Avengers franchise, which has a long way to go. While I can admit Marvel characters will never have the reputation or respect that Batman/Superman hold, I get the all too familiar informercial feeling for Marvel characters more often than I get a story feel with the latest Batman, and potentially Superman.

The only Marvel score that really sticks with me is Raimi's Spiderman. That is an ICONIC score (and maybe X2 when Jean dies still sticks with me). I can't hum a single tune from the MCU off the top of my head. That's just me though. I just don't think MCU movies are going to have that lasting impact, outside of maybe the Avengers franchise, which has a long way to go. While I can admit Marvel characters will never have the reputation or respect that Batman/Superman hold, I get the all too familiar informercial feeling for Marvel characters more often than I get a story feel with the latest Batman, and potentially Superman.

The only thing I remember about Spidey is that Nickelback/Chad Kroeger cheesy track "Hero" LOL. Not a classic at all